The Cube is Not Solid All the Way Through: It Has a Hollow Core
February 3, 2022 1:34 PM Subscribe
I wonder where did the gold come from: The Devastating Costs of the Amazon Gold Rush
posted by Tom-B at 1:44 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Tom-B at 1:44 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Reading the first link, and this is all gets more absurd with each line. It's cyrpto/NFT grifter weirdness all the way down.
posted by nubs at 1:44 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by nubs at 1:44 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
Since this all boils down to a crypto ad, I fully expect the cube to turn out to be what ads call "gold tone." When this is discovered, it too will be part of the Art.
In unrelated news, the skeleton of an unhoused person was found in a tent in the park last week, behind the Met.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:47 PM on February 3, 2022 [26 favorites]
In unrelated news, the skeleton of an unhoused person was found in a tent in the park last week, behind the Met.
posted by Countess Elena at 1:47 PM on February 3, 2022 [26 favorites]
Gold colored objects are worthless until they are assayed. Since it's crypto adjacent, I'd want it to be fully fire-assayed before I believe shit.
posted by Horkus at 1:50 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 1:50 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
Third link: "Cast in Switzerland, the 1.5-foot cube required a special kiln to hold its content and the extreme temperatures needed for the melting process."
Gold melts at a lower temperature than you'd fire pottery at. Did they need a special kiln for extremely low temperatures?
posted by phooky at 1:56 PM on February 3, 2022 [36 favorites]
Gold melts at a lower temperature than you'd fire pottery at. Did they need a special kiln for extremely low temperatures?
posted by phooky at 1:56 PM on February 3, 2022 [36 favorites]
I saw that too phooky, like, what? I've got "extreme" temperatures in my garage apparently.
posted by Horkus at 1:58 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 1:58 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
I smell a new heist movie.
posted by emjaybee at 2:03 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 2:03 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
“The cube measures over a foot and a half on all sides and has a wall thickness of about a quarter inch.“
If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth.
posted by borges at 2:07 PM on February 3, 2022 [12 favorites]
If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth.
posted by borges at 2:07 PM on February 3, 2022 [12 favorites]
If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth.
Sure, but they make up for it in volume.
posted by 7segment at 2:13 PM on February 3, 2022 [38 favorites]
Sure, but they make up for it in volume.
posted by 7segment at 2:13 PM on February 3, 2022 [38 favorites]
I smell a new heist movie.
Or an episode of Banacek.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:16 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
Or an episode of Banacek.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:16 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth.
Isn't that the point?
(And this whole thing is pretty disgusting, even by web3.0 standards.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:31 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Isn't that the point?
(And this whole thing is pretty disgusting, even by web3.0 standards.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:31 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Please don't feed the troll artist.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:36 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:36 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
That’s nothing. The Penguin locked himself and his gang in a bullion vault for a week with a stove and air supply , welded the bullion into a solid gold WW2 tank, and drove out through the wall, nearly escaping if not for Robin shooting out a tread with the Batzooka.
posted by freecellwizard at 2:37 PM on February 3, 2022 [22 favorites]
posted by freecellwizard at 2:37 PM on February 3, 2022 [22 favorites]
I imagine I speak for many others here when I ask: the creators of this cube... what do they taste like, I wonder?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:46 PM on February 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:46 PM on February 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
"The project is the brainchild of German artist, Niclas Castello, who told Artnet News that he wanted to 'create something that is beyond our world—that is intangible.'"
That word, I do not think it means what you think it—
"To accompany the work, however, Castello will also release an accompanying NFT"
Never mind.
"If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth."
solid cube, 18 inches on side: 95.57 liters -
cubic void, 17.75 inches on side: 91.64 liters
therefore
hollow cube, 18 inch sides by .25 inches thick = 3.83 liters
3.83 liters of Au is 74kg = 2,378 troy ounces
2,378 troy ounces at $1,801.90 (2021-02-03) per troy ounce = $4,284,918.20
So four and a quarter million dollars, roughly.
"...the 1.5-foot cube required a special kiln to hold its content and the extreme temperatures needed for the melting process."
All in all, this doesn't seem to be a credible source. Credibility is, one might say, intangible.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:57 PM on February 3, 2022 [8 favorites]
That word, I do not think it means what you think it—
"To accompany the work, however, Castello will also release an accompanying NFT"
Never mind.
"If this is true then the cube weighs about a quarter what they say it weighs. It’s also worth a quarter of what they say it’s worth."
solid cube, 18 inches on side: 95.57 liters -
cubic void, 17.75 inches on side: 91.64 liters
therefore
hollow cube, 18 inch sides by .25 inches thick = 3.83 liters
3.83 liters of Au is 74kg = 2,378 troy ounces
2,378 troy ounces at $1,801.90 (2021-02-03) per troy ounce = $4,284,918.20
So four and a quarter million dollars, roughly.
"...the 1.5-foot cube required a special kiln to hold its content and the extreme temperatures needed for the melting process."
All in all, this doesn't seem to be a credible source. Credibility is, one might say, intangible.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:57 PM on February 3, 2022 [8 favorites]
cubic void, 17.75 inches on side
If both sides are a quarter inch thick the void would be 17.5 inches per side, which almost exactly doubles the amount of gold and all of the numbers that follow.
posted by grahamparks at 3:10 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
If both sides are a quarter inch thick the void would be 17.5 inches per side, which almost exactly doubles the amount of gold and all of the numbers that follow.
posted by grahamparks at 3:10 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Well, of course I would make a stupid mistake.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:16 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:16 PM on February 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Castello's next project is to cast a shooting star and then to break its mold.
posted by dannyboybell at 3:19 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by dannyboybell at 3:19 PM on February 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
what do they taste like, I wonder?
Bullion cubes?
posted by The Half Language Plant at 3:25 PM on February 3, 2022 [20 favorites]
Bullion cubes?
posted by The Half Language Plant at 3:25 PM on February 3, 2022 [20 favorites]
Ok, but that's still, like, 3 million dollars of missing gold, isn't it?
I think the "special" kiln is one that you put 11.7 million dollars of gold in and 3 million of it slides down the back into the secret compartment underneath the stage, never to be seen again.
Just like an NFT.
posted by Horkus at 3:28 PM on February 3, 2022 [23 favorites]
I think the "special" kiln is one that you put 11.7 million dollars of gold in and 3 million of it slides down the back into the secret compartment underneath the stage, never to be seen again.
Just like an NFT.
posted by Horkus at 3:28 PM on February 3, 2022 [23 favorites]
intangible
immateriell
goulyd coinn o lore
*cast fools gold spell
immateriell
Orson Welles
congh shell
gulden melt
*casts permanent spell
Lich Boesky!
electrum of 20 millions.
hone this cube of force.
posted by clavdivs at 3:38 PM on February 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
immateriell
goulyd coinn o lore
*cast fools gold spell
immateriell
Orson Welles
congh shell
gulden melt
*casts permanent spell
Lich Boesky!
electrum of 20 millions.
hone this cube of force.
posted by clavdivs at 3:38 PM on February 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
Funny thing about gold is, if you're not allowed to touch it then it's extremely difficult to tell the difference between a solid gold object and one that just has the thinnest possible gold plating.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:10 PM on February 3, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:10 PM on February 3, 2022 [7 favorites]
plywood and gold leaf
posted by wordless reply at 4:20 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by wordless reply at 4:20 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
you have failed to understand the secrets of gold cube
you are all impoverished stupid
posted by pyramid termite at 4:38 PM on February 3, 2022 [14 favorites]
you are all impoverished stupid
posted by pyramid termite at 4:38 PM on February 3, 2022 [14 favorites]
I’ve read enough architectural articles about European projects to translate the Americanized dimensions. I’ll bet the cube is 0.5 meters per side and 6 mm wall thickness, maybe 7 or 8 mm. Usually at 9 mm reporters make the jump to 3/8”.
posted by meinvt at 5:41 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by meinvt at 5:41 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
BTW, the correct value of this is about $9,100,000, given the 18" and ¼" estimates.
Note that this assumes a cube exactly 18 inches on a side. The quoted mass in the first link of 186kg was worth $10,775,972 at today's close. 186kg is about 125% of my calculated mass. But, as my prior error demonstrates, it wouldn't require much thicker walls or wider sides to get the value to $11M.
"I’ve read enough architectural articles about European projects to translate the Americanized dimensions. I’ll bet the cube is 0.5 meters per side and 6 mm wall thickness, maybe 7 or 8 mm. Usually at 9 mm reporters make the jump to 3/8”."
I thought just this and I tried to back-calculate from the valuation using plausible even metric measurements (as opposed to the estimated imperial given) and while a half-meter sided cube was attractive, it would have required sides of about 14mm (about 0.551") thickness to get to $11.5M valuation at today's gold price... which would make the ¼" estimate off by a factor of two. Which maybe isn't plausible.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:47 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Note that this assumes a cube exactly 18 inches on a side. The quoted mass in the first link of 186kg was worth $10,775,972 at today's close. 186kg is about 125% of my calculated mass. But, as my prior error demonstrates, it wouldn't require much thicker walls or wider sides to get the value to $11M.
"I’ve read enough architectural articles about European projects to translate the Americanized dimensions. I’ll bet the cube is 0.5 meters per side and 6 mm wall thickness, maybe 7 or 8 mm. Usually at 9 mm reporters make the jump to 3/8”."
I thought just this and I tried to back-calculate from the valuation using plausible even metric measurements (as opposed to the estimated imperial given) and while a half-meter sided cube was attractive, it would have required sides of about 14mm (about 0.551") thickness to get to $11.5M valuation at today's gold price... which would make the ¼" estimate off by a factor of two. Which maybe isn't plausible.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:47 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Link two is adblocker hostile.
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
now where did i put my guillotine-sharpening utensils and oils?
posted by slater at 6:31 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by slater at 6:31 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you're casting this, how would you make sure the walls have even thickness? (Or would you not bother trying?)
posted by clawsoon at 6:51 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by clawsoon at 6:51 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
My question was how did they put it there, a solid cube would weigh a lot and from how it looks in the snow, it was placed on top of footprinted snow, and there are no forklift marks or even marks from a dolly to carry it.
But using math (thanks to Ivan Fyodorovich and Grahamparks, above) and converting into proper units (thanks to google), it seems that this would be 300-ish lbs. So... not impossibly unwieldy to lift. If it were pure gold, maybe it would be crushed under its own weight, though? I'm no metallurgist, but gold is soft and each face weighs 60 lbs. Are the corners dented?
whereas if it were solid, it would be... (more math...) 4070lbs? check my math, i'm sleepy. a 4070 lb block 18 inches on a side would be interesting just as a demonstration of density.
Anyway, I wish this guy lots of luck with his NFT. Separate the fools from their money!
posted by Vatnesine at 7:48 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
But using math (thanks to Ivan Fyodorovich and Grahamparks, above) and converting into proper units (thanks to google), it seems that this would be 300-ish lbs. So... not impossibly unwieldy to lift. If it were pure gold, maybe it would be crushed under its own weight, though? I'm no metallurgist, but gold is soft and each face weighs 60 lbs. Are the corners dented?
whereas if it were solid, it would be... (more math...) 4070lbs? check my math, i'm sleepy. a 4070 lb block 18 inches on a side would be interesting just as a demonstration of density.
Anyway, I wish this guy lots of luck with his NFT. Separate the fools from their money!
posted by Vatnesine at 7:48 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
EARTH HAS SIMULTANEOUS
0-day
CRYPTOCUBE
in SIMULTANEOUS ROTATION
posted by prismatic7 at 9:00 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
0-day
CRYPTOCUBE
in SIMULTANEOUS ROTATION
posted by prismatic7 at 9:00 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
5.5 talents of gold. one says 400 lbs. one 410lbs.
how did they put it there, a solid cube would weigh a lot and from how it looks in the snow
I'd use heavy canvass and 4 people. It seems like a small shim is under the right side of cube.
I'm assuming the thing was cast by Rüetschi, known for casting bells.
posted by clavdivs at 9:07 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
how did they put it there, a solid cube would weigh a lot and from how it looks in the snow
I'd use heavy canvass and 4 people. It seems like a small shim is under the right side of cube.
I'm assuming the thing was cast by Rüetschi, known for casting bells.
posted by clavdivs at 9:07 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
But he couldn't like, at least, polish the sides and make them uniform so it looked nice? It's all lumpy and has weird almost lines(?) of different colors on it...
posted by mincus at 5:08 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mincus at 5:08 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
> I imagine I speak for many others here when I ask: the creators of this cube... what do they taste like, I wonder?
long pig
posted by Tom-B at 6:31 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
long pig
posted by Tom-B at 6:31 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
...it would have required sides of about 14mm...
I think you doubled the side thickness again. The math is easy if you stay in metric the whole time. The Vice article says 186 kg, and gold is 19.3 g/cc, so around 9640 cc. If it's 50 cm on a side, you need a 48.7 cm hollow cube inside, so about 6.6 mm sides.
It would be interesting to see how it's actually made though. This was probably cast with no 6th side. They could have cast a side separately then welded it on, but why would you if it's flat on the ground all the time. With a missing side it'd be a little less than 8mm thick.
posted by netowl at 1:36 PM on February 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
I think you doubled the side thickness again. The math is easy if you stay in metric the whole time. The Vice article says 186 kg, and gold is 19.3 g/cc, so around 9640 cc. If it's 50 cm on a side, you need a 48.7 cm hollow cube inside, so about 6.6 mm sides.
It would be interesting to see how it's actually made though. This was probably cast with no 6th side. They could have cast a side separately then welded it on, but why would you if it's flat on the ground all the time. With a missing side it'd be a little less than 8mm thick.
posted by netowl at 1:36 PM on February 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
A lot of work to make a prog rock album cover.
posted by kersplunk at 3:20 PM on February 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by kersplunk at 3:20 PM on February 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
Is this not the greatest time to be alive EVER?
posted by Chitownfats at 8:39 PM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Chitownfats at 8:39 PM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
...the creators of this cube... what do they taste like, I wonder?
They're made out of meat.
posted by neuron at 10:49 AM on February 6, 2022
They're made out of meat.
posted by neuron at 10:49 AM on February 6, 2022
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posted by fight or flight at 1:42 PM on February 3, 2022 [5 favorites]